"Ran-Qi-Yue!"
"Ran-Ai-Qing!"
Su Mutianjun, who was sitting at the head seat in the side hall, glared at the man in front of him who was wearing a dark green Taoist robe.
"You, really are... so good!" Su Mutianjun gritted his teeth, enunciating each word. His voice was low and hoarse, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat, filled with anger and resentment.
"Your Majesty, have you misunderstood me because of the rumors that have been maliciously spread in the capital recently?"
Ran Qiyue was heartbroken, wailing like a cuckoo. He fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowed to Su Mutianjun, and cried out in sorrow, "Your Majesty, these are all slanders! They are all slanders! It's obvious that someone is deliberately trying to sow discord between you and me, and is maliciously slandering me behind my back!"
“That’s enough!”
Su Mutianjun slammed the table and stood up. His finger, pointing at Ran Qiyue with such fury, trembled slightly. "I always thought you were a loyal subject, but I didn't expect you to be so despicable! How dare you even touch my woman?"
"Your Majesty, Empress Shangguan is a virtuous woman who strictly adheres to the code of conduct for women. How could she possibly betray her husband and have an affair with another man? I am also loyal to Your Majesty, and this unwavering loyalty is witnessed by heaven and earth, and the sun and the moon can testify to it. I have never even met Empress Shangguan in private, so how could I possibly have an affair with her?"
Ran Qiyue raised her head and continued slowly, "Your Majesty, if I truly had evil intentions, why would I have waited until today? This is clearly a deliberate trap set up by someone. I beg Your Majesty to understand!"
Su Mutianjun scoffed disdainfully, snorting coldly, "Framed? How do you explain the rumors out there? As the saying goes, 'a fly won't bite an egg without a crack.' If you hadn't acted recklessly and done things carelessly, how could you have been the target of gossip and criticism?"
"Your Majesty, there must be a trick here. I hope Your Majesty can give me some time. I will be able to get to the bottom of it." Ran Qiyue kowtowed.
At an angle that Su Mutianjun couldn't see, a sinister glint flashed in Ran Qiyue's narrow phoenix eyes.
He was extremely discreet in his affairs with Shangguan Yuechan, always meeting her through a secret passage beneath the palace. This passage was incredibly hidden, like a mysterious underground dragon, quietly weaving through the heart of the palace. Even Emperor Su Mutianjun was unaware of its existence.
It seemed likely that someone already knew his secret. Strangely, however, the other party didn't use any evidence to blackmail him. Who was the person behind this deliberate rumor? Ran Qiyue pondered to herself, thinking that she would have to be even more cautious in the future...
Su Mutianjun pondered for a moment and felt that the rumor came indeed suddenly, and there might be something strange about it, but there were no other clues at the moment, so he decided to believe Ran Qiyue for the time being.
"Okay, I'll give you three days. If you still can't find out the truth, don't blame me..." When Su Mutianjun wanted to continue speaking, he was interrupted by Ran Qiyue.
"Your Majesty, last night while observing the stars, I discovered that the light of the Purple Star was flickering towards the west. It is about to descend upon the capital of Laifeng, west of our Zhaoyang Kingdom, and a divine dragon will also appear with it. I have never seen such a powerful imperial aura...nor have I seen any record of it in history books."
"I felt this matter was not simple, so I opened my divine eyes overnight. I saw the Purple Star shimmering over the capital of Laifeng State, and the divine dragon was even more miraculous. Its entire body was shimmering with golden light, its whiskers dancing, and its scales gleaming..."
Ran Qiyue's gaze was far-flung, as if lost in memories. "When I saw this scene, I was deeply shocked. Such a powerful imperial aura was bound to bring about earth-shaking changes. However, at the same time, I also noticed that the imperial star above the capital of our Zhaoyang Kingdom seemed to be getting dimmer..."
"What do you mean, my dear Ran?" Su Mutianjun asked in confusion.
In Ran Qiyue's lengthy speech, he only grasped the key points: the growing strength of the Laifeng Kingdom's imperial aura and the fading of the Zhaoyang Kingdom's imperial star. When it came to his own throne, Su Mutianjun temporarily put aside his prejudice against Ran Qiyue, and his tone softened considerably.
Ran Qiyue looked leisurely towards the capital of Laifeng Kingdom, west of Zhaoyang Kingdom, and said, "Your Majesty, according to what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said earlier, the Crown Princess of Laifeng Kingdom is pregnant with twins. I calculated the date, and it's almost time for her to give birth..."
"Crown Prince? I didn't know he would make such a fuss about this. It seems he has been slacking off in his studies. Laifeng Country is a country where women are respected. It is normal for men to give birth to children. It is not surprising." Su Mutianjun said indifferently.
"Your Majesty, it's not surprising that a man in a country where women are respected gives birth to a child. What's surprising is that the princess of Laifeng Country looks exactly like your deceased brother, the former crown prince Su Mutiansheng..."
"My dear Ran, you mean... you mean..." Su Mutianjun suddenly had a bad guess in his mind.
"Reporting to the emperor, I suspect...the crown prince Su Mulige is not dead at all!" Although Ran Qiyue was just guessing, his tone was full of certainty.
Su Mutianjun frowned upon hearing this and asked in confusion, "But... my nephew is a man from a country where men are respected, so how... how could he be pregnant, and with twins?"
"Your Majesty, I have heard that there is a magical elixir in Xuanyi Valley called the 'Marrow Cleansing Pill'. It can reverse a person's constitution. It can change a man from a male-dominated country into a man from a female-dominated country who can father daughters and raise children. It can also change a man from a female-dominated country into a man from a male-dominated country who can make women pregnant and bear children..."
"Is there such a thing?" Su Mutianjun was shocked and personally helped Ran Qiyue, who was kneeling on the ground, up.
Let alone Ran Qiyue's lack of an affair with Shangguan Yuechan, even if she did, this flawed personal morality would be insignificant in the face of the need to secure the throne. She was just a woman, and Su Mutianjun knew he couldn't turn against her, at least for now.
"My dear Ran, I naturally believe that you and the Imperial Concubine are innocent. I was simply confused for a moment and believed the rumors, which led to my misunderstanding of you. Please do not take it to heart. The most urgent task is to find out whether the Princess Zhengjun of Laifeng Kingdom is my short-lived nephew Su Mulige..."
Su Mutianjun changed the subject and continued, "Of course, if the child in her belly truly threatens the country and the people of Zhaoyang, and threatens my throne, then no matter if it's Su Mulige or not, she must be eliminated as soon as possible!"
Ran Qiyue's lips curled slightly when she heard this, and she thought to herself: This Su Mutianjun is really as selfish as ever.
He opened his thin lips slightly, bowed to Su Mutianjun, and said, "Your Majesty is right! If you don't remove the grass at its roots, it will grow again in the spring breeze. For now, besides sending someone to assassinate the princess and the legitimate ruler of Laifeng Kingdom, I have another method. I want to use an evil spirit to devour the soul of the fetus. Once the evil spirit takes over, the child will be a demon. In this way, the Purple Star will not be able to descend to the earth, the dragon will not appear, and your Majesty's country will be as stable as before..."
"Okay! My dear Ran, just go ahead and do it. Just tell me if you need anything." Su Mutianjun held Ran Qiyue's hand tightly, looking like a wise king and a virtuous minister.
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